[TorqueDog]

Mazda has been quietly positioning themselves as a brand that makes both premium economy and affordable luxury really well without having an uplevel brand, similarly to what Hyundai was up to prior to spinning off Genesis into its own marque.

However, Mazda has a far more consistent design language that I think will age better; every Mazda is instantly recognizable as one.

Hyundai seems to be all over the place; the cars and some of the crossovers have this very futuristic look, while others (mainly the bigger SUVs) are sticking to a more conventional formula. The Palisade looks like you could slap a Chevy Bowtie on the grille and you'd have a nicer and better-looking Chevy Traverse, albeit with L405 Range Rover-esque tail lamps. Yet the front end on the Kona looks like it comes with Tron lighting built in.